Endless Recovery
by TheOrangeBakaRanger aka Naruto
Summary: AU. Instead of crazy chakra stamina, Naruto has crazy chakra regeneration. Different childhood, different abilities. Nonyaoi pairings if any, dunno yet. Read, review, and enjoy!
1. Endless Problems

**A/N**: Hey. This will, by far, be the longest A/N (author's note) I ever write…probably. The story will be AU for sure. For those who don't know what that means, AU stands for Alternate Universe. It's so confusing the first time you see all of these different abbreviations in fan-fiction. I still don't know what OOC means. But seriously, aren't all fan-fictions AU? I mean, if it isn't AU, doesn't that mean that the story is the same as it was in the manga or anime? Who wants to reread the same story they got to see before except without the pictures? Any changes an author makes to the plot, characters, or anything else means by definition that it will create an alternate reality within the story.

Anyways, I guess it will also follow canon (almost positive this means the original plot line). You know, going to wave country and the Chuunin exams and such. But before that, I'm changing Naruto's childhood, along with his abilities. The other characters will be pretty much the same. This story will be pretty long as well (I'll try not to drag it out though, 'cause that's just boring), since short stories just leave a bad taste in my mouth. You know, like feeling rushed or wondering what happens to the characters after the ending.

There will obviously be some OC's (original characters) since I'm creative. Also, the other characters in the series weren't willing to work overtime without extra pay (that was a joke, chillax --- crossbreed between chill and relax).The OC's will play some major parts in the story, but they won't take it over. This is primarily a Naruto-centered fan-fiction, 'cause we all love blue eyed, blonde haired little twerps, I mean demon vessals, err, children.

Hmm, what else can I say here... Oh, this isn't a Super-Naruto fic, although he will have some cool (dare I say, uber --- hehe, every time I drag out the 'u' in that word, I can't help but crack up) abilities. Let me just say that they do all have weaknesses, so he's not like, untouchable…most of the time.

I don't know how often I'll update, since I'm lazy. Creative, but very lazy. However, at the beginning of each chapter, I'll make sure to put a small summary of what happened in the previous chapter. So if you don't want to reread everything again just to know what's going on, you won't have too. Although at times, when I read fan-fiction, if I find that the story is written really well, I actually do bother to reread some of the previous chapters that just stuck out for me. That's the sign that a story is a good one.

I guess if anyone has any questions, suggestions, pairings they want to see (no yaoi --- guy on guy action, 'cause I'm just not into that, and no older women, cause that's too much like child molestation, and I'm not into that either), or the dreaded flames (If I find out who you are, I'll hunt you down…just kidding) leave a review. Also, if anyone wants to guess as to the meaning of the title of this story, feel free to do so. My only clue is that there is more than one way to interpret it.

By the way, here's the legend:

"Review my story" – indicates speech.

_I hope they review my story_ – indicates thoughts.

That's pretty much it. I'll add more if I need to. Just ignore what was said in the captions, I just needed to fill the space with something. It's not as though I was trying to discreetly get you to review my story…no, nothing like that (This is called sarcasm. I may at times choose to incorporate this into my chapters. However, it is up to you to realize when that is, as I will not be putting little notes like this into the actual story).

Disclaimer: I've seen one of these in every fan-fiction I've read. Not too sure why the site requires it though. I mean it's not as though you're just gonna conveniently forget that Masashi Kishimoto wrote the series and say I did instead (I got the right author name, right?). Anyways, I'm not writing this for any kind of profit and I don't own any of the characters or plot scenarios that I have taken the liberty of borrowing from the original series. However, I do own any of the OC's I have created, and any deviations I have made from the original series. If you wanna borrow some of the ideas I used in this fan-fiction, feel free to do so, just make sure you give credit where it's due (I wouldn't mind if you made a little shrine at the bottom of the chapter with my author name in big bold letters with little decorations around it…nope, wouldn't mind that at all).

And with that done, let the story begin (yeah, yeah, it's finally starting)…

* * *

The setting sun illuminated the sky in all of its fiery magnificence. The clouds were a multitude of bright shades, ranging from yellow to purple, with a little bit of blue mixed in here and there. However, in stark contrast to the brilliant display above, the ground below was covered in a dull crimson, with patches of green and brown scattered about. It was an enormous battlefield, littered with hundreds, if not thousands, of bodies lying about for as far as the eye could see. 

This was the scene which greeted the recently reinstated Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, Sarutobi. With a heavy heart and saddened eyes, he surveyed all that was around him, the aftermath of the battle against the greatest threat Konoha had ever encountered to date, the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, Kyuubi.

He didn't know why it had attacked the village, nor did he care at the moment. The battle against the Demon Fox was intense, and in the end, the Village Hidden in the Leaves paid a heavy price. More than half of the village was in shambles, as were its people. Many had died, both civilians and the brave Shinobi and Kunoichi that fought to protect them. As if that weren't bad enough, Sarutobi's successor, Arashi Kazama, the Yondaime Hokage, had forfeited his life in order to halt the Kyuubi's rampage.

This was indeed a time of great sorrow for the people of Konoha. Their homes destroyed, their families torn apart, and their leader dead, there was little hope left. But the people would carry on. They would rebuild their beloved village, and restore it to its former glory. They would prosper, all the while looking ahead to a brighter future.

Sarutobi stood, looking over the village, and couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his aging face. The people were already gathering in the streets, helping and supporting one another. Yes, the village would survive this terrible fate it was handed, rising from the ashes once again like a phoenix of legends.

The old man's musings were interrupted by an approaching Chuunin. "Hokage-sama, I bring terrible news! It concerns the child you left at the hospital. They need you to come as quickly as you can!" With that, the young Shinobi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, undoubtedly going elsewhere to provide assistance where it was required.

As he sped across the rooftops of the buildings that were still left standing, Sarutobi's face was grim. There was no doubt in his mind that the child the Chuunin had spoken of was Naruto Uzumaki. He couldn't help but let out an involuntary shudder as a feeling of dread washed over him. _What if the Shishou Fuuin (Four Image Seal) the Yondaime used to seal the Demon Fox within the child is breaking? The village would never be able to defeat the Kyuubi if it were to escape its jail and resume its attack._

_

* * *

_

The Hokage made it to the hospital entrance in record time, a seemingly impossible task for a man of his age. He rushed through the door, and was met by a doctor waiting to escort him to Naruto's room. As they walked down the corridors at a fast pace, the doctor filled Sarutobi in on the child's condition. "Hokage-sama, we just can't understand it. The child is exhibiting signs of a massive chakra overdose. We have tried draining the chakra with a number of different methods, but it just continues to regenerate. At the moment, his body is producing nearly twice the amount of chakra it should be able to handle."

One thought came to Sarutobi's mind above all the others. _Kyuubi._ He continued walking as he pondered on the situation. _Could it be trying to escape? No, that can't be it. The seal must be attempting to merge the Demon Fox and Naruto's chakra systems together. We knew the Kyuubi had extraordinary chakra regeneration and reserves, but I never imagined there could be such a side effect. It seems the merging chakra systems are using attributes from one another to form a singular system. Although unexpected, Naruto's current condition points to his chakra reserves remaining that of an ordinary child's while his chakra regeneration is the Demon Fox's. Of course, this merger will take a number of years, so his chakra regeneration, although mundane in comparison to the Kyuubi's at its maximum, is still proving to be too much for his small body to handle._ Groaning silently to himself, the old man's conclusion took a page out of the Nara clan's view on any given situation. _This could prove troublesome._

The two men walked into the room, the doctor heading over to the medic-nin overlooking the rest of the medical staff as they worked to reverse the boy's condition. Sarutobi looked on as Naruto was poked and prodded, several different machines of varying sizes surrounding the boy's bed. The doctor that had first met the Hokage returned to his side after inquiring about what had happened in his absence.

"Hokage-sama, it seems that the child's condition is steadily worsening. His chakra levels continue to rise at an alarming rate. We are doing all we can to drain the excess amounts, but it seems we cannot keep up with it. At the moment, we are just barely managing to keep his chakra levels below his body's maximum chakra capacity."

Sarutobi gave out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stem off the inevitable approach of a headache. "I see, what do you suggest we do?" The doctor let out a sigh as well, as though it were contagious, and turned to look at the blonde boy as the medics continued to work along side his bed. "I don't know what to tell you. If he were an adult ninja, I would have him try to drain the chakra though the constant use of high level jutsu. But as it is now, he is just a child, less than a day old. The boy has no means of draining the chakra on his own, as most children cannot even reach their chakra stores until they begin at the ninja academy."

The Hokage listened as the doctor continued his observations. "This is however a truly peculiar case. His chakra capacity isn't even all that high, merely average for a child. What is strange is that his chakra regeneration is through the roof. He is producing much more chakra than his body can handle."

Sarutobi sighed once again. _I guess I was right. He has a child's chakra capacity and the Kyuubi's chakra regeneration. I suppose this would seem like a peculiar case to anyone who didn't know about Naruto's tenant. It looks as though I was right in keeping the Kyuubi's sealing a secret from the village. If the people were to find out about it, Naruto's abnormal chakra regeneration would only work to persuade them that he was the Demon Fox. I'm sorry Arashi, but your final wish will have to go unanswered for the time being. However, I have faith in the boy. He will prove his worth to the village, and gain recognition as a hero on his own terms._

After pausing to let all the information sink in, the doctor went on with his explanation. "What's worse is that his chakra regeneration rate is unstable and continues to fluctuate. If we were somehow able to manipulate and then match the boy's chakra regeneration with our own chakra draining, we would be able to stabilize his condition."

At the doctor's last statement, Sarutobi's eyes snapped open. "That's it!" he yelled. The doctor jumped at the Hokage's outburst, barely managing to contain a small yelp from escaping his mouth. "What is it, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi quickly signaled to one of the many Anbu that always followed him in the shadows. The Anbu member made his presence known with a poof of smoke right beside the Hokage and the doctor. However, this time, the doctor failed to keep from yelping in his surprise. He slouched against the wall directly behind him, a hand resting against his chest as he slowly breathed in and out. _This day is sure filled with a lot of surprises. This can't be good for my health._

The Anbu addressed his superior in a formal tone with the utmost respect. "What is it you request of me, Hokage-sama?" Sarutobi turned to the Anbu. "This is a matter of great importance and is time sensitive. I need you to get a hold of the leader of the Akadou clan and bring him back here right away. Now go!" The Anbu member bowed, and with a cry of "Yes, Hokage-sama!" poofed away in a cloud of smoke.

Sarutobi turned to the now recovered doctor with hope in his eyes and a small smile adorning his face. "We may be able to stabilize the boy's chakra regeneration yet." The doctor faced the Hokage with a look of confusion on his face. Sarutobi noticed this, and answered the doctor's unspoken question. "You see, the Akadou clan has the unique ability to drain the chakra of anyone they come in contact with through the use of a technique called the Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu (Chakra Absorption Skill). If I am correct, the clan leader will surely be able to help return Naruto's condition to normal." Understanding dawned on the doctor as he too let a small smile grace his lips.

Both men's small amount of happiness was shattered when they heard a low pitched beeping noise getting progressively quicker and louder. The doctor quickly ran over to one of the machines close to Naruto's bed, kneeling down to read the results. Sarutobi watched as the doctor ordered some of the medical staff to bring him some things and others to help him with the boy. The Hokage felt as though butterflies were madly flapping around inside of his stomach as he watched the young Naruto's face scrunch up into one of pain. Then came the child's wailing as tears streamed down its small cheeks. The doctor looked up at Sarutobi with panic clearly visible in his eyes. "Hokage-sama, the boy's chakra regeneration is rising to critical heights! His body won't be able to handle the stress from such a chakra overdose if we aren't able to drain it in time. He might die!"

Sarutobi felt his stomach drop and his throat clench up at the implications of the doctor's observation. _Naruto and the Kyuubi's chakra systems couldn't have possibly had enough time to merge with one another to more than a small degree. If the boy dies, the Demon Fox will more than likely be released to once again bring destruction to the village, and the Yondaime's sacrifice will have been for nothing!_

A set of loud poofs was heard at the entrance to Naruto's room as a young man dressed in traditional, solid blue robes walked inside along with an Anbu member. The Hokage looked at the two with a blank look, when realization finally set in. It was the leader of the Akadou clan and the Anbu member he had sent to get him. _Finally!_ the Hokage thought in silent relief.

Sarutobi signaled that the Anbu member was allowed to leave as the Akadou clan leader stepped in front of him with an inquisitive look on his face. "Why have you requested my presence, Hokage-sama?" With the Anbu member's exit, Sarutobi called the doctor he was speaking to earlier over, and looked back to the clan leader. The man was almost a head taller than the Hokage, with shoulder-length brown hair and a slender yet muscular build. He wore dark ocular lenses over his eyes, the Akadou clan's trademark, as it were. "Ah, Akadou Taiki-san, I'm glad you could come on such short notice. We are faced with a grave problem that requires your assistance." Sarutobi then turned to the doctor. "Would you mind telling Taiki-san what it is he must do to help the boy's condition?"

The doctor looked to the Akadou clan leader and back to the Hokage again. "Not at all Hokage-sama." Turning once again to face Taiki, he began his explanation. "Quickly, I need you to put a drain on the boy's chakra equal to his chakra regeneration. It is unstable, and with its constant fluctuations, the boy's chakra overdose only continues to grow more severe. If you can do so for several minutes, we should be able to lower his chakra levels back to their original state while stabilizing his chakra regeneration at the same time."

Taiki Akadou walked over to the boy's bedside and spoke with a calm yet emotionless voice, "Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu (Chakra Absorption Skill)." His hands began glowing with faint blue chakra as he leaned over the child's body and placed both hands on the boy's chest. The low pitched beeping noise coming from the chakra gauging machine that had flooded the room only moments ago slowed down considerably before coming to a stop altogether. All of the onlookers watched as the boy's features slowly but assuredly eased from ones of pain and suffering to a state of calm.

The doctor walked over to Naruto's side as he observed the readings coming off several of the machines. After several tense minutes, the doctor gave a sigh of relief, and turned back to the Hokage. "He seems to have stabilized. He should be alright for now." Sarutobi sighed in relief much like the doctor had only moments ago, with the others in the room following suit shortly after. _It seems that the Kyuubi won't be escaping his prison anytime soon, and if I have anything to do with it, he'll never get the chance._

At the doctor's approval, the Akadou clan leader ended his chakra draining technique and made his way back to Sarutobi's side. "If that is all you needed, I will be on my way, Hokage-sama." Taiki bowed and was about to exit the room when the Hokage's next words stopped him. "Taiki-san, I appreciate your assistance. However, I can't help but worry that this is not the last of the boy's problems with his chakra. I would be greatly relieved if you were to consider adopting the boy into your clan, where you could further monitor his condition and act accordingly."

Taiki turned around and starred at the Hokage in utter shock. _He wants me to adopt this child into the Akadou clan?_ He glanced at the child lying on the bed, asleep after his exhausting experience, and then back to Sarutobi once again. "Hokage-sama, with all due respect, you cannot seriously expect me to adopt this child, let alone allow him to live with the rest of the clan."

Sarutobi looked at Taiki with a look of confusion and amusement all rolled up into one. "And why not, Taiki-san? The boy has shown that he posses an incredible power of chakra regeneration beyond anything we have ever seen before. He will need to be drained of this chakra several times throughout the day to avoid chakra overdose. With such a 'chakra battery' at your disposal, how could you decline?"

Realization of just how useful the boy could be dawned on the Akadou clan leader, his eyes betraying his thoughts as they grew wide._ Perhaps he will be of some use to the clan as an endless source of chakra._ Taiki could only imagine the things his clan could accomplish with such a tool at their disposal. "I see your point Hokage-sama. I accept responsibility over the boy's wellbeing. I will adopt…"

The Hokage finished the sentence for the clan leader, realizing he had neglected to inform anyone of the boy's name as of yet. "Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. I will need you to come with me to my office so that we can discuss some terms regarding this adoption, and so that I can make it official." The Akadou clan leader bowed before Sarutobi once again. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi quickly turned back to the doctor in charge of Naruto's recovery. "I thank you and your medical staff for all that you've done. Please continue to monitor the boy's condition and inform me of any changes while I am away." The doctor bowed to Sarutobi as a show of respect before speaking. "It was our pleasure, Hokage-sama. We will inform you the moment anything happens." Sarutobi nodded his head in the doctor's direction, showing his acceptance, and with that, he and the Akadou clan leader headed off towards the Hokage's tower.

* * *

In the Hokage's office, Taiki Akadou stood in front of Sarutobi's seated form behind his desk. The two were currently discussing any conditions that would need to be addressed prior to Naruto's adoption into the Akadou clan. 

The Hokage looked at the clan leader with an expressionless face, a sure sign that he was serious about the proceedings. He spoke with both hands folded in front of his mouth, the fingers interlaced with one another. "To start things off, I would like to be informed of Naruto's condition on a weekly bases. This not only pertains to his chakra regeneration, but to his overall development."

Taiki looked at Sarutobi with a similar expression adorning his visage. "That is not a problem, Hokage-sama. I would like to inquire as to whether or not the child should be raised as a shinobi."

Sarutobi answered without any hesitation present in his voice. "Yes, he will be a shinobi of the leaf. You may begin his training when you believe he is ready. In regards to Naruto's chakra regeneration, I would like the boy to learn how to expel any excess chakra from his body with the help of the Hyuuga clan as well as your own. He cannot continue to rely on others to drain his chakra, that will only create the weakness of dependency, and although teamwork is a highly important aspect of the shinobi world, he needs to learn how to take care of himself."

The Akadou clan leader thought about the Hokage's words for a moment. "Hokage-sama, I agree that the boy should learn how to rely on his own strength, but I do not believe the Hyuuga will be willing to expose their secrets to anyone outside of their clan."

Sarutobi paused for a moment, considering his next choice of words. "I will worry about that when the time comes. Aside from the Hyuugas' aid, a large portion of Naruto's training will be from the Akadou clan. It is up to you whether or not you are willing to entrust any of your clan's special techniques to the boy."

Taiki once again took a few moments to think over the Hokage's words. "Hm, even if I were willing to teach Naruto the Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu (Chakra Absorption Skill), it just doesn't seem practical with his condition. He has more than enough chakra with his enormous chakra regeneration, and because of that, I can't see him being able to utilize the technique properly. Perhaps I will teach him the Chakra Koushin no Jutsu (Chakra Injection Skill) instead. Yes, that would most likely fit his condition nicely."

The Hokage thought about Taiki's suggestion for Naruto's training before responding in a lighter tone. "That is a splendid idea. I'm sure it will be a great skill for the boy to learn. Who knows, with such a technique under his belt, he may even prove to be a worthy medic-nin."

The two men pondered on that thought for several minutes before Taiki broke the silence. "Hokage-sama, I assume the boy will still enter the ninja academy when he comes of age, and until that time, is to be considered a ninja in training."

Sarutobi nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, he will be enrolled in the ninja academy when he turns nine. As for his status, although Naruto will be a ninja in training as you pointed out, I will allow him to do some D ranked missions within the village, and possibly some lower level C ranked missions once he comes of age, but only if he's accompanied by several of the other Akadou clan members, for safety purposes. We can't have him doing potentially dangerous missions by himself before he is even given the Genin rank."

The Akadou clan leader bowed to Sarutobi. "I understand, Hokage-sama. I agree to all of the terms you have stated."

Sarutobi rose from his seated position behind his desk and brought a scroll out, placing it onto the table. "Good. Now let me quickly record all of the conditions we have discussed and your adoption will be finalized." With that he wrote down everything they had spoken about in the office. Below that, he wrote the traditional statements which would legalize the adoption. Finally, he passed the sheet over to Taiki for inspection.

The Akadou clan leader looked over the scroll, and finding it to his satisfaction, signed his name at the bottom. He handed the scroll back to the Hokage, which in turn also signed his name at the bottom of the scroll. He then placed the Hokage's seal below the signatures, legalizing the document. Sarutobi rolled the scroll back up, and turned back to Taiki, speaking in a voice filled with pride. "I, as the Sandaime Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, hereby recognize you and your clan as the guardians of Naruto Uzumaki."

Taiki Akadou bowed low to his superior. "I thank you, Hokage-sama. My clan and I will take care of the young Naruto as though he were of our own blood." He rose from his position and the two men smiled lightly at one another.

Sarutobi thought for a moment before addressing the clan leader once again. "If there are no problems with the boy, you are free to pick him up from the hospital. As his guardian, you are now allowed to sign his release forms. Good luck, and I look forward to Naruto growing up into a fine young man under your clan's tutelage."

The clan leader bowed once again as a show of respect before heading for the door. "I will do that right now, and I thank you for your kind words, Hokage-sama."

* * *

Taiki made his way through the streets of Konoha, heading towards the village hospital. It was true that he had just adopted a child into the clan, but he was unsure of who would raise the boy. He was torn between taking the child under his wing and letting one of the other clan members raise him. _It's true that if I were to raise Naruto, he would have an easier time fitting in. No one would dare question the clan head's decision. But with Asuka expecting our baby girl in less than a month, I don't know how we will be able to raise two newly born children. However, if I give Naruto over to another clan member, I can't be sure that he will be raised properly. Hm_…. 

The Akadou clan leader walked into the hospital lobby and made his way over to the secretary at the desk. The lady behind the desk looked up with a cheerful smile adorning her face. "Hello, how can I help you?" Taiki looked at the women and smiled back. "I'm here to check-out Naruto Uzumaki." The secretary looked down at a clipboard with a list of patients and their conditions on it. "I see no problem with that. It seems that the boy's condition has stabilized and the doctor has permitted his discharge. You can find him on the second floor, room 206." Taiki nodded to the secretary, and with a quick "Thank you" made his way towards the room.

Taiki walked into the room, and was greeted with the child's sleeping form, lightly snoring away. Taiki held back a chuckle as he made his way over to the bed. He picked up a blanket that was resting on a table beside the bed, and wrapped the boy into a bundle, with only his little head sticking out. He looked around the room, checking for anything that may belong to the boy. He picked up a small bottle filled with milk off of the nightstand and left the room with Naruto in hand.

As the Akadou clan leader walked back to his clan's estate, he looked at the child wrapped in his arms. The boy had a small tuffet of blonde hair sticking out the top of his head, and although the boy's eyes were closed, Taiki knew they were a brilliant blue from his prior observation of the child. He quickly noticed that Naruto also had strange markings on his cheeks, almost resembling whisker marks, but Taiki decided that they only added to the boy's overall cuteness. After looking at the boy for several more minutes, he decided. _Naruto will be a part of my family. He will make a fine older brother for our soon to be baby girl._

_

* * *

_  
**A/N**: Well, that's the end of the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I was basically laying down the foundation for the rest of the story, so there wasn't really any action.

For those of you who are wondering who the Akadou clan is, think back to the third round of the Chuunin exam. Now, remember that dude that fought Sasuke in the preliminary rounds after the forest of death, the one that sucked his chakra up forcing Sasuke to use his Lion Combo? That's the only known Akadou member in the original Naruto series, named Yoroi. I basically created an entire clan of chakra leeches, and Yoroi is just another member.

Although this chapter was pretty mellow, the next one will reflect on Naruto's childhood, his training, some cool abilities he learns from the Akadou and Hyuuga clans, and who could forget the mission that went wrong, drastically changing Naruto's attitude towards everything. Look forward to it.

Like I said in the above A/N, I don't know when I'll update, since I'm lazy, and I have finals coming up in the next few weeks at college. I give you permission to bug me and ask, yell, threaten (without following through of course --- that's called an 'empty' threat), or whatever else you want to do to get me to update faster.

On a side note, I'm not any good with Japanese names, so I used a website to come up with some that would fit the OC's nicely. Here are the meanings to the OC's names I have introduced so far, along with what role they play in my story.

Taiki (Large Radiance) – Leader of the Akadou clan.

Asuka (Fragrance of the Bright Day) – Taiki's wife and soon to be mother of a baby girl and Naruto.


	2. Endless Negotiations

**A/N: **Hey. Here's chapter 2 of Endless Recovery. But before that, I would like to say a few things.

First, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I can honestly say that I am now among those that know what OOC means. (Makes me all giddy inside…no, not really, but I still enjoy being in the know how). I'd definitely appreciate it if more people would leave reviews, though. I mean in a weeks span, I got 5 reviews, and like 350 hits. Every hit deserves an autograph, don't you think? Doesn't matter if you wanna stay anonymous or not, if you've got a lot to say or just one sentence, leave a review. The more reviews I get, the more I feel like people actually give a damn whether or not I update the story, you know what I mean?

Anyways, on to the second topic. "_the DragonBard"_ brought up an excellent point in his review. I already explained it to him, since he was the one that brought it up, but now I'll take the time to explain it to everyone else. **Concerning Naruto's chakra regeneration when compared between the original story and my fanfiction.** Okay, in the original story, Naruto has an enormous chakra reserve and chakra regeneration, while in my story, Naruto has a tiny chakra reserve and an enormous chakra regeneration. I'll use the same example I used when I explained this before.

Imagine the original story's Naruto has chakra reserves the size of a pool, while the fanfiction's Naruto has chakra reserves the size of a regular 8oz cup of water. The water is chakra. Now both the original and the fanfiction Narutos have chakra regeneration equivalent to a garden hose constantly pouring water into the pool and the cup. Okay, now let's say the pool has a leak and the cup has a whole at the bottom. Both are losing water, and both have a single garden hose trying to fill them back up.

While the pool continues to drain water because it is much bigger, the cup is overflowing with water. Why is that? Well, because the cup is so small, even with the water leaking out of the hole at its bottom, the hose more than makes up for it, and actually provides more water than is needed. Now, once all the water is drained from both the cup and the pool, the original Naruto with the pool chakra reserve is out of commission until the next day, until it is filled up by the hose once again. My Fanfiction Naruto, is out of commission for like a second before he's once again overflowing with chakra. Just remember, even though he pretty much has a constant source of chakra, the amount his chakra reserves can handle is the amount he can actually use to do different ninjutsu and genjutsu. I think he'll have enough in his reserve to do the henge and make a single bunshin. Yeah, that makes Sakura's chakra reserves look like a lake. Hope that cleared that up, and if not, don't be afraid to ask a question in a review.

Okay, onto the **Chapter 1 Summary**: Sarutobi looks at the destruction caused by the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, Kyuubi, and thinks about Konoha's future. The people have not been told about Kyuubi's sealing. He goes to the hospital to find that Naruto's chakra regeneration is sky rocketing and his body can't get rid of the excess chakra on its own. The head of the Akadou clan, Taiki, is called in to absorb Naruto's chakra, and finally Naruto's condition stabilizes. Taiki ends up adopting Naruto after discussing several terms and conditions surrounding the adoption with Sarutobi.

Okay, that's it for the summary. Now, concerning the preview I made for chapter 2 last time. I lied (Lied is such a strong word, let's just say I didn't quite think everything through, 'cause well, I didn't. Now that I wrote an actual outline for the story, I will be able to give better previews).

Here's the legend (nothing changed yet):

"Review my story" – indicates speech.

_I hope they review my story_ – indicates thoughts.

Okay, now time for everyone's beloved…

Disclaimer (I'm feeling a bit lazy, so I'll just copy and past some parts from last chapter's disclaimer): I'm not writing this for any kind of profit and I don't own any of the characters (or techniques) or plot scenarios that I have taken the liberty of borrowing from the original series. However, I do own any of the OC's I have created, and any deviations I have made from the original series (including any techniques I create on my own, however doubtful that may be).

There you go, now let the story begin…

* * *

Sarutobi sat at his desk in the Hokage's office looking over the latest report on Naruto's condition. It had been four years since the boy's adoption into the Akadou clan. From what he could see, Naruto seemed to be doing rather well there. The child had the care of a loving mother and father, and a younger sister he could call his own. He had a family, which was more than Sarutobi could ever wish for the boy. 

He shuddered at the thought of just how miserable Naruto would have been if the Kyuubi's sealing were announced. He understood why the late Yondaime Hokage wanted Naruto to be viewed as a hero. After all, the boy was the only thing standing between Konoha and the Demon Fox's rage.

But Sarutobi also understood that the villagers were still grieving over their losses. He could feel the people's sorrow, the utter anguish that seemed to permeate the village in its entirety. If Naruto were exposed as the Kyuubi's vessel, the people would quickly grow to resent the boy for his connection to the Demon Fox. It wouldn't be long before that resentment grew into an insatiable hatred and cruel animosity directed towards him.

A scowl making its way across the old man's face betrayed his current thoughts. _I would never forgive myself if that boy was made to suffer such a horrendous life._

Still, even with the Kyuubi's sealing kept a secret, its influence over Naruto's life never ceased. The Sandaime, losing his scowl and gaining a look of weariness, let out a long sigh. He had lost track of how many times Naruto's chakra regeneration had acted up. It seemed as though Naruto had an episode, a term they had come to use whenever describing his chakra regeneration's wild fluctuations, once every couple of weeks.

Sarutobi was fairly certain the merger between Naruto and the Kyuubi's chakra systems was the cause behind these episodes. From what Taiki could tell, within the four years since the adoption, Naruto's chakra regeneration had grown at an astounding rate. During his latest episode, the boy produced nearly ten times the amount of chakra his reserves could handle. And every time the boy had a new episode, it would become increasingly harder for the Akadou clan members to manipulate his chakra regeneration.

However, as bad as Naruto's condition sounded, it still had room to grow a whole lot worse. It was indeed very fortunate that his chakra regeneration returned to its normal levels outside of these episodes. According to Naruto's doctor, if it were to remain at the production rate it had during his episodes indefinitely, more than half of the Akadou clan would be needed to drain his chakra at a constant rate just to keep him alive.

Sarutobi let out yet another sigh as he leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin in thought. _It seems the time has finally arrived for Naruto to receive training from the Hyuuga and Akadou clans. Hopefully, with the Hyuuga clan's help, Naruto will learn how to expel chakra on his own. With that ability at his disposal, he wouldn't need the Akadou clan members to drain his chakra for him anymore. And even if his chakra regeneration levels were to increase, the boy would easily be able to release all of that excess energy from his body as it would be produced._

He signaled for an Anbu member and was promptly greeted with a poof of smoke in front of his desk shortly followed by a "Yes, Hokage-sama!" Sarutobi looked at the man standing before him and made a small inclination of the head as acknowledgement to the ninja's presence. "I would appreciate it if you would bring the head of the Hyuuga clan to my office as soon as possible." The Anbu member bowed before addressing his superior. "Of course, Hokage-sama, right away." With that said the Shinobi headed for the Hyuuga compound, once again leaving Sarutobi as the room's sole occupant. _Hm…Hyuuga Hiashi is a proud and stubborn man, convincing him to train the boy won't be easy… but its Naruto's only hope. Come to think of it, I should also send for the boy and his father. This meeting does concern them, after all.

* * *

_

Said boy was currently laughing as he raced throughout the Akadou clan's compound, a girl about his age right on his heels. "Hahaha, you'll never catch me, Akemi!" He glanced over his shoulder to gauge the distance between his pursuer and himself, but unfortunately for him, at that exact moment, Naruto tripped, and with a yelp, went tumbling onto the ground. After laying there for several moments in a daze, he sat up, shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of his sudden bout of dizziness.

He was about to get up when he once again found himself lying flat on the ground, this time compliments of the girl that had been chasing him. In all of the confusion after his fall, Naruto had completely forgotten that he was being chased. He turned his head to his left, his face only a few inches away from the girl's. She was lying on her stomach by his side, resting her left arm across his chest. The boy blinked several times before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter, the girl quickly following.

After they calmed down a bit, the girl turned to Naruto with a triumphant look on her face. "What was that about me not being able to catch you, big brother?" The blonde boy turned to Akemi with a depressed expression on his face. But it only took a few seconds for that pout to turn into a devious smile. He quickly rolled from under her arm to his right, jumped up and continued running. Akemi let out a surprised yelp, and quickly took off after him, all the while shouting "That's not fair, big brother!"

* * *

Taiki was sitting outside on one of the many benches that could be found scattered throughout the Akadou clan's compound. Comforted by the shade of a tree nearby, he gazed at his surroundings, taking in the scenery on this fine summer morning. A number of clan members were walking about, some undoubtedly heading out for mission briefings at the Hokage tower, while others just enjoyed the fresh air and warm sunshine. 

He let out a sigh, content with the morning so far. He could tell that today was going to be a good day. Like nothing could possibly go wrong. The head of the Akadou clan brought a cup of cool tea to his lips, a moment away from letting some of the soothing liquid pour down his throat. And pour it did, all over his face and down onto his robes.

Now Taiki knew he wasn't a clumsy man, so he was sure that his current state was not due to a simple slip of the fingers. He felt a pair of hands clutching onto one of his arms, coincidentally the arm that was holding the tea cup, and another pair of hands grabbing his other arm. He looked down to see his two favorite, although not at the current moment, children, Akemi and Naruto. The boy had a sheepish grin on his face as he looked at his father's dripping form, while the girl was trying to keep her giggles from being heard, and failing miserably.

Taiki let out another sigh, this one more out of frustration than contentment. He glared at the boy first. The Akadou clan head had adopted the child with the intention of using him as a mere tool, a 'chakra battery,' but as Naruto grew, Taiki and his wife came to see the boy as one of their own. Naruto had a head full of short, spiky blonde hair. His eyes were a bright blue, like the color of the sea. He had tanned golden skin, and three whisker marks on both of his cheeks. Having an addiction to the color orange, Naruto was currently wearing a light orange t-shirt with a blue symbol of Konoha on the back, and a pair of dark orange shorts with two blue stripes on each side, going just past his knees. He wore a pair of blue outdoor slippers on his feet. Knowing he was the cause of Taiki's frustration, Naruto couldn't help but blush and shy away from his father's glare.

Hearing Akemi's giggles getting progressively louder, Taiki glared at her next. She was only a few weeks younger than Naruto. Her hair was brown like her fathers. She wore it in two small pig-tails on either side with the rest going down to her shoulder-blades. As for Akemi's eyes, they clearly took after her mother, a light blue like the morning sky. The girl's skin was a natural peachy color, healthy and without any blemishes. She wore a light blue top and a white skirt with pink streaks running vertically throughout it, ending just above her knees. Her legs were covered with loose, light blue leg warmers, and a pair of pink slippers were on her feet. The girl eeped at her father's gaze and quickly stopped giggling, a blush covering her cheeks as she spoke with her head tilted downwards. "Sorry father, we didn't mean to spill your tea all over you."

Taiki gained a sinister gleam in his eyes as he looked from Akemi to Naruto, and back again. "Oh, you didn't mean to, huh?" With that, he set out to tickle the two of them. There was no time for shock to register on either of their faces as they both fell over in a fit of laughter, all the while begging for their father to stop his cruel punishment. "Ahahaha…dad…ahahaha…dad, sto…haha…stop…hahaha." After deeming that his children were punished enough, Taiki stopped his infamous tickle attack on the two, and they slowly began to settle down.

Taiki looked at his two kids with a smile on his face. "So, what have you two learned from this?" Naruto looked at his father, matching the man's smile with one of his own fox grins. "We learned not to get caught in one of your tickle attacks again!" But before Naruto could escape, Taiki caught him and started tickling the boy once again. "What was that?" Through his laughter, Naruto managed to stutter out the answer his father was truly looking for. "I…hahaha…I mean we learned…haha…to be…hahaha…aware of our surround…hahahaha…our surroundings when playing...hahaha." Taiki stopped tormenting Naruto and instead decided to mess the boy's hair up with his hand.

"Good, now let's get cleaned up before your mother finds out what you two have been up to." He was met with a chorus of "Yes, father!" as the two children quickly ran ahead of the Akadou head towards their house, Taiki slowly following behind them. _Those two sure know how to get into a lot of trouble. I'm glad Akemi has Naruto to look out for her though. He may be a tad irresponsible at times, but when it really counts, that boy is every bit the big brother I expect him to be, and then some._

Taiki was about to enter his home and take a quick shower when he heard a poof behind him. He turned around, and as the small amount of smoke from the teleportation jutsu cleared, he saw an Anbu member standing before him. He looked at the Shinobi curiously. "What can I do for you?" The Anbu member quickly bowed his head to the Akadou clan's leader, and was about to speak when he noticed the man's current state. "Err…is this a bad time?" Taiki raised an eyebrow at this, but then remembered that he still had spilt tea all over his face and robes. "Never mind that, what did you want?"

The Anbu member, remembering why he was there, addressed Taiki in a formal tone. "By the Hokage's request, I am here to inform you that he would like you and Naruto to accompany me to his office for a meeting." Taiki answered as he turned and headed towards the bathroom. "Understood. Please allow me and my son some time to change into something a little more presentable." The Anbu member scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ah…sure, no problem."

* * *

Currently at the Hokage's office, Sarutobi sat and waited for the arrival of Hiashi, Taiki, and the main focus of the meeting, Naruto. About five minutes later, he was still waiting for them to show up. The old man, deciding to finish off some of the paperwork he had neglected to do that day, grabbed a sheet off the top of a stack of documents. After reading over it, he dipped his brush into the ink bottle on his desk and prepared to sign the paper. He was in the process of writing his name when several puffs of smoke and a yell of "Hey old man, what did you want?" interrupted him, causing the brush to effectively draw a large line across the entire page. With a sigh, Sarutobi looked up to see Naruto bouncing around his office, Taiki with an amused smirk on his face, and Hiashi standing off to the side with an uninterested gaze trained on him. _So much for finishing any paperwork today._

Sarutobi put what he was working on aside, and motioned for the three to sit down. After they complied, he leaned forward, looking over each of them intently. "I called you three here for a very important purpose. That purpose is to discuss Naruto's Shinobi training as of today." He was about to continue, but was interrupted by the blonde boy. "What do you mean my Shinobi training?" Sarutobi smiled at Naruto. "I'm getting to that. Now, first I must ask you, Taiki-san, if Naruto is physically and mentally ready to take on his training as a ninja."

Taiki looked to Naruto, the boy looking right back at him with curiosity and a hint of excitement in his eyes. The Akadou clan head turned back to Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama, it is my belief that Naruto is ready to train as a Shinobi of Konoha." The old man nodded his head in understanding. "I see, well then, let's move on. Hyuuga Hiashi, I called you here to request your aid in Naruto's training, are you willing to provide your assistance?"

Hiashi looked at Naruto with cold, emotionless eyes. The boy squirmed under the man's gaze, wanting nothing more than for it to end. The Hyuuga clan leader then turned to the Hokage and responded with a simple "No." Although such a response was expected, Sarutobi couldn't help but grow shocked at the other man's simple dismissal. "Hiashi-san, I assure you that none of the Hyuuga clan's techniques would need to be taught to the boy. The only training he would need from you would be on his chakra control and making full use of his 361 tenketsu holes."

Hiashi once again repeated his answer. "No." Sarutobi knew the Hyuuga head was a stubborn man, but he had to find a way to convince him to train Naruto. The boy simply wouldn't survive without the Hyuuga's help. "Hiashi-san, all I ask is that you give this boy a chance. With your training, he will grow to become one of the greatest ninjas this village has ever seen." He knew this next part would be a bit low, but he decided to use Hiashi's pride to his advantage. "Think of all the ninja that would recognize the Hyuuga clan's greatness through this boy. With Naruto's growth as a Shinobi, people will acknowledge the Hyuuga clan as his trainer, as his source of strength."

Taiki smirked when he caught on to what the Hokage had in mind. Sarutobi was going to play to the other man's characteristics, attempting to persuade him by bolstering his pride. With a start, he realized that the old man had used the exact same tactic on him when persuading the Akadou clan head to adopt a certain blonde haired child. Anyhow, he couldn't bring himself to grow angry with the Hokage, after all, adopting Naruto had given Akemi an older brother. Pushing those thoughts aside, he turned to the Hyuuga head, awaiting the man's response.

Hiashi looked at the boy next to him once more, this time with an activated Byakugan. He was slightly shocked to find Naruto daydreaming, and couldn't help but wonder what was on the child's mind. Said boy was currently picturing himself standing atop a pile of defeated Shinobi with his hand making a 'v' for victory over his head. Feeling someone's gaze on him, Naruto awoke from his imaginary conquest to find Hiashi looking at him again. _What's this guy looking at? Gah, and what's with those freaky eyes?_

The Hyuuga clan leader addressed Sarutobi while keeping his eyes on Naruto. "Hokage-sama, I'm afraid I do not see how this boy could possibly become a ninja, let alone the greatest one this village has ever seen. His chakra reserves are below average for his age. In fact, they seem to be at an infant's level." At Hiashi's remark, Naruto could feel his whole body heat up in anger. He tried to calm his temper down like his father had taught him, but it was proving too difficult. He was quickly getting hotter, like he was boiling from the inside out. Hiashi looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Boy, control yourself. Your chakra is growing at an increasingly unstable rate." With a cry of pain, Naruto's body slumped back into his chair as the boy let unconsciousness take him.

Sarutobi's eyes grew wide as he saw Naruto fall unconscious. "What? It can't be! He just had an episode a few days ago!" Taiki quickly jumped out of his seat and began performing the appropriate seals for his technique. "Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu" (Chakra Absorption Skill). He began to absorb massive amounts of chakra from Naruto's body, but there was only so much he could do alone. "Hokage-sama, please send for some more members of my clan. I cannot hope to stabilize Naruto on my own."

The Hokage signaled for several Anbu members. With their arrival, Sarutobi quickly briefed them on the situation at hand. "Get me as many members of the Akadou clan as you can! Tell them Naruto is having another episode. Now go!" With simultaneous bows and shouts of "Yes, Hokage-sama!" the group of Shinobi was off. Sarutobi watched as Taiki continued draining Naruto's chakra. He couldn't help but let the worry he was feeling show on his face. _Taiki can't absorb that much more chakra without succumbing to chakra overload. The time it would take to lower his own chakra levels could prove lethal for Naruto. Without a constant drain on his chakra, the boy will die._

Hiashi, remaining emotionless throughout the entire ordeal, continued starring at the boy with his still activated Byakugan. He saw what was going on inside of the child, but he just couldn't explain it. The chakra coils throughout Naruto's entire body seemed to be steadily filling with chakra, while the boy's chakra reserves were already filled past their limit. It was almost as if the child had taken several soldier pills at once. Even more bizarre was Naruto's tenketsu holes. They were sealed with a thin film of chakra, keeping all of the extra chakra his body produced from escaping through them.

The Hyuuga head used his Byakugan's telescopic ability to look closer at the boy's tenketsu holes, but what he saw completely baffled him. Naruto's chakra coils seemed to have even smaller chakra pathways twisting around them, all with their own tenketsu holes as well. _This child may prove to be far more interesting then I had initially thought. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to train the boy._ With that thought in mind, Hiashi stood up from his seat and walked over to Taiki before speaking. "Move aside."

The Akadou clan head looked up at Hiashi while continuing to drain Naruto's excess chakra. "What? Can't you see that Naruto needs to be drained of his chakra? He'll die if I stop!" The Hyuuga head scowled in response to Taiki's words. "No, the boy will die if you do not move aside." Taiki's temper was steadily increasing before he completely lost it. "You arrogant fool! I have to..." He didn't get to finish what he was saying as his rant was interrupted by the Hokage's concerned voice. "Taiki-san, I understand how you feel, but perhaps there is something Hiashi-san can do to help Naruto's condition. At this rate, the other Akadou members won't make it here in time, and you are dangerously close to chakra overload."

A look of defeat flashed across Taiki's face before an expression of anger set in. With a growl, the Akadou head addressed Hiashi. "Hyuuga, if my son dies because of your interruption, I will personally end your life, and damn the consequences!" Hiashi nodded to the enraged man, understanding all to well a father's fear of losing his child. As Taiki ended his technique and moved out of the way, the Hyuuga head walked over to Naruto's body and placed it against the seat in a more rigid position before addressing the rest of the people in the room. "As I was observing the boy, I noticed that his tenketsu holes were blocked off by thin films of chakra. Ideally, my technique should destroy a portion of those blockades, allowing the excess chakra to flow out of his body." With that said, Hiashi set himself into the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) style, and shouted the name of his technique for all to hear. "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou" (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms).

He proceeded to call out the number of strikes he made on Naruto's body. "2 strikes, 4 strikes, 8 strikes, 16 strikes, 32 strikes, 64 strikes!" With the last hit, blood came trickling out of Naruto's mouth and down his chin. Taiki was in a panic. The only thing he could see that the Hyuuga's attack did was pummel his son to the point of internal bleeding. He was practically steaming at the ears in rage. "Hyuuga, what the hell did you do to my…" He didn't get to finish his question as all of the room's occupants were blown back by the force of Naruto's chakra. The boy lit up like a pile of wood drenched in oil and covered in flames. A bonfire would seem like a small candle flame in comparison to this display.

Sarutobi along with the two clan heads shielded their eyes from the blazing chakra emitted from Naruto's still unconscious body. The bright blue chakra dangerously flared out from the tenketsu holes Hiashi had opened with his technique. As all three men's eyes adjusted to the brightness, they couldn't help but let their jaws drop, leaving their mouths wide open. It would be a truly spectacular sight if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation. The chakra took up more than half of the room in width and length, while its height was limited only by the ceiling. Scorch marks could be seen wherever the chakra made contact. Ever so slowly, the chakra's radius grew smaller, until it completely disappeared back into its host's body.

The room's occupants were thrown out of their daze as a groan was heard coming from Naruto's direction. Taiki quickly ran over to his son, and watched as the boy's eyes flickered open and looked at him in utter confusion. "Ugh, what happened?" Taiki couldn't stop the tears from falling down his cheeks as he embraced his son in a hug. Naruto was still trying to reorient himself, but hugged his father back anyways. He could hear Taiki's whispered words, and the undeniable anguish present in them. "I thought I was going to lose you, son. I'm glad you're okay." Naruto felt his father push him away slightly while still holding onto his shoulders. "You are okay, right? I mean, nothing hurts? Do you need anything? Maybe something to drink? Or some…" He was interrupted for the third time that day as his son began to laugh. He couldn't see what was so funny; Naruto had almost lost his life just a few minutes ago. "Dad…hahaha…you sound just like mom, worrying like that…hahahaha." With that, the tension in the room was broken, and Taiki along with Sarutobi joined in on the laughter, Hiashi letting a smirk adorn his normally stoic face.

After several minutes, the room's occupants returned to their seats and continued on with the meeting. Taiki looked towards the Hyuuga head with regret in his eyes. "Hiashi-san, I am sorry for the way I acted before. I am truly grateful for what you did for my son, and I would be honored if you were to help train him." Sarutobi nodded his head in agreement. "I too would like to thank you for your part in Naruto's recovery. I wish you would reconsider training the boy." Hiashi stayed silent for a few moments, pondering on how to approach Sarutobi's plea. "Hm…I suppose I could help train the boy in proper chakra control. From what I saw here today, he has great potential. However, as you said so yourself, I will not disclose any of my clan's techniques to him, nor will I teach him our taijutsu style."

Sarutobi nodded while voicing his agreement. "That is all I ask. Thank you for your cooperation, Hiashi-san. Now, let's discuss a training schedule the boy will follow. I must insist that Naruto spend at least two days a week training on chakra control under your guidance. I would like to avoid any incidents such as the one you were just witness to from ever occurring again."

The Hyuuga head answered with little delay. "That is understandable. I believe I will be free to train the boy on the weekends." The Hokage looked to Taiki for approval, and after gaining a nod from the man, turned to address Hiashi. "That is acceptable. I assume the rest of the week Naruto will be trained by the Akadou clan?" Taiki looked to Naruto with a slightly sadistic grin on his face. "Yes, Hokage-sama, the Akadou clan will mold him into a strong Shinobi the leaf can be proud of." Naruto couldn't help but let out an audible gulp, to which the Hokage and Taiki chuckled, the former in amusement, while the latter somewhat evilly. One thought dominated Naruto's mind above all others. _What have I gotten myself into?_

After the meeting was concluded, Hiashi left, going back to the Hyuuga compound, Taiki and Naruto went home, and Sarutobi went out for a stroll throughout Konoha. With everyone gone, the Hokage's secretary relaxed in her chair while thumbing through one of her recent magazines. All of a sudden, there were at least a dozen poofs of smoke in the hallway, followed by a stampede of men and woman rushing through the Hokage's office door. The secretary raised an eyebrow at the scene, shrugged, and went back to reading an article on "Modern Day Kunoichi."

_

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_

**A/N:** Alright, sorry for not providing any action in this chapter (I mean fighting action, unless you think Hiashi beating the shit out of an unconscious Naruto is the coolest fight scene ever made, in that case, forget I said anything).

Next chapter preview (Now with extra accuracy): Next time we'll see how Naruto's training is doing, maybe see a few D-ranked missions he goes on, and hopefully get to the tragic C-ranked mission (no promises for this last part though, just depends on how I think it fits with the chapter's flow).

Hope you've been enjoying the story so far. Remember to review and tell your friends. I'll try updating again next week, but that's still up in the air, since I got finals this Wednesday, Thursday, and next Monday. Yeah, school is a bummer.

On a side note, I'm not any good with Japanese names, so I used a website to come up with some that would fit the OC's nicely. Here are the meanings to the OC's names I have introduced so far, along with what role they play in my story.

Taiki (Large Radiance) – Leader of the Akadou clan.

Asuka (Fragrance of the Bright Day) – Taiki's wife and soon to be mother of a baby girl and Naruto.

Akemi (Beautiful and Bright) – The daughter of Taiki and Asuka. Also Naruto's younger sister.


	3. Endless Growth

**A/N: **Hey. Here's chapter 3 of Endless Recovery. But before that, I would like to say a few things.

Once again, thanks to everyone who bothered reviewing my story. Like I said before, every hit deserves an autograph. My latest overall stats were 31 reviews and about 2,600 hits. Keep up with the reviews, I enjoy reading and responding to them.

Now to address any concerns I saw in the reviews. A lot of people are worried about **Naruto's chakra reserves**, and are wondering **if they will grow**. Basically, his reserves didn't grow in chapter 2 because he never actually used chakra before. Now that he will be using chakra, I have to say that his reserves won't grow by much. I didn't really explain it that much in this chapter, but I will in chapter 4. His reserves do grow, but not very drastically. So don't expect any giant chakra sucking attacks, like Kage Bunshin (shadow clones).

On a side note, I think his Kage Bunshin (shadow clones) are used way too often in the original story and in fanfictions. I have to say, the move doesn't allow for a whole lot of creativity. Most just follow the whole: Step 1. Make a whole lot of clones, Step 2. Gang up on the enemy, Step 3. Pull a win out of your ass by some miracle. That's boring, so I will avoided it, enlisting better techniques that will provide far greater entertainment for all of you, hopefully.

As for Islagatt's point about the regeneration actually being generation, it is, to a certain extent. But I don't want to confuse people or have someone think I misspelled the word without the "re" in front. So, I will continue to refer to it as chakra _regeneration_. Thanks for understanding.

Okay, onto the **Chapter 2 Summary**: There is a four year time skip since chapter 1's end. We find the Hokage sitting at his desk thinking about Naruto's condition. He decides that it is now time for Naruto to start his training as a Shinobi. We see several scenes with Naruto interacting with his family, including his younger sister, Akemi, and his father, Taiki. Afterwards, back at the Hokage's office, Sarutobi, Hiashi, Taiki, and Naruto discuss the kid's future training. Naruto has an episode during the proceedings, and Hiashi comes to the rescue with one of his techniques. They settle on Naruto's training schedule, and then I make a small attempt at humor, you know, the part with the secretary (dunno if any of you found it funny though). Hint: all of those people that rushed into the Hokage's office were the Akadou clan members he sent for during Naruto's episode. A little late, weren't they, lol.

Okay, that's it for the summary. Now, concerning the preview I made for chapter 3 last time. I lied, again. Let's face it, I suck at previews, since I never end up including what I said I would in the next chapter anyways. All the stuff I hinted at will still happen, it's just that it may take a while to get to it. But don't think I'm just trying to drag this story out. Everything I write has a point, whether it is an explanation or bonding (you know, something that will make you feel the characters are real, and actually get you to care about them).

Here's the legend (a new addition has been made. Plus fun little explanations):

"Review my story" – indicates speech (Just straight-up quotes and regular text).

_I hope they review my story_ – indicates thoughts (Just straight-up italics).

_ :They reviewed my story: _ – indicates flashbacks (Not so straight-up colons outlining the italicized words. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually, although there won't be a whole lot of these in my stories. At least I think there won't be).

And now, onto everyone's favorite…

Disclaimer: I'm not writing this for any kind of profit and I don't own any of the characters, techniques, or plot scenarios that I have taken the liberty of borrowing from the original series. However, I do own any of the OC's I have created, and any deviations I have made from the original series, including any techniques I create on my own, however doubtful that may be.

The story will begin shortly. Please be courteous to your fellow readers by turning off your cell phones and keeping conversations down to a minimum. Also, please dispose of any trash you may have accumulated throughout the story in your nearest waste basket once finished. Thank you, and enjoy the story…

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Hazy sunlight pierced a pale washed dawn, sending streaks of pink and gold across the Hokage Mountain and the four carved faces that adorned it. Dew drops resting on the buildings and forest below glistened like expertly cut diamonds, producing a rainbow of colors when the light hit them at just the right angle. And a lone bird's enchanting melody was heard echoing throughout the entire village, completing the rather majestic scene. 

However, all of nature's beauty went entirely unnoticed by a certain boy as he lay in his bed asleep, his blonde hair spilling out from underneath the blankets. A peeved Taiki stood next to Naruto's bed as he glared at his son, willing him to wake up. "Naruto, get up, I'm not going to say it again." He was met with silence. This was the third time the Akadou clan's leader had come into the blonde boy's room to wake him up, and each time, Naruto would get up assuring his father that he was awake, only to fall back into bed, roll over, and fall asleep once Taiki left the room.

The Akadou clan head's eye twitched as his glare intensified. "That's it, if you won't get up on your own, I'll make you get up!" With that said, Taiki shoved his hands under the mattress, and with a small grunt, flipped it over, along with Naruto's sleeping form, onto the floor. Naruto met the floor with a loud thud, which was soon followed by a muffled groan as the mattress landed on top of his sprawled body.

Satisfied with his work, Taiki headed for the door, only to stop dead in his tracks when he heard a soft snoring coming from under the mattress. His eye twitching in full force, he turned around and kicked the mattress. The Akadou clan's leader stomped back to the door as he shouted towards his son. "Fine! If you're not going to get up, I'll just have to eat your breakfast for you! I can taste it now, your mother's expertly prepared eggs, bacon, pancakes, and tea. Yum, I can hardly wait!"

Just as Taiki was about to step through the doorway, an orange blur blew right past him, almost knocking him off of his feet. He looked after the orange blur, but there was no trace of it. Looking back inside the room, he saw the mattress resting lopsided on the bed frame as though it were thrown there, with the blankets strewn all throughout the room, and no sign of Naruto anywhere. He chuckled to himself as he made his way towards the kitchen. "Hahaha, too easy."

* * *

Taiki entered the kitchen with a smile on his face, kissed his wife on the cheek, eliciting a giggle from her, and sat down next to his son and daughter. However, Naruto was too busy stuffing his face at an unimaginable pace to take notice. Taiki chuckled once more as he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Haha, Naruto, slow down, I was only joking. I wasn't really going to eat your breakfast. Besides, I'm sure there's plenty more food if you're still hungry." Akemi giggled at her big brother's expense as Naruto looked up from his plate with a sheepish grin on his face. 

Asuka sat down at the table, setting a plate of food in front of herself. Taiki looked at the plate and smiled before addressing his wife. "Asuka, you have prepared a fine meal indeed. Is that for me?" Asuka couldn't help but glance at her husband with a guilty look on her face. Taiki took notice, and voiced his concern. "What's wrong, honey?" Asuka couldn't look Taiki in the eyes, and instead chose to focus her gaze on Naruto. "A-actually, there isn't anymore food left, Naruto ate it all. And…um…that was your breakfast," she said while pointing a finger at Naruto's almost completely cleaned off plate.

For a second, Taiki stared at his wife with a blank look on his face, then he followed her finger as it pointed to Naruto's, by now, empty plate. His eye once again began to twitch uncontrollably, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the boy's shoulder. Through clenched teeth, the Akadou clan head addressed his son. "You…ate…my…breakfast?-!" Naruto looked at his father with a nervous smile on his face. "Um…I was really hungry?" With that, the boy snaked his way out of Taiki's grip and took off running as fast as his feet would carry him. The room was bathed in a tense silence for several moments, before a thundering scream rang throughout the entire compound, scaring the birds away, and gaining a wince from anyone in the nearby area. "NAAARRRUUUTTTOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Said boy almost tripped when he heard his father yell out his name. Naruto looked over his shoulder, making sure Taiki wasn't following him, and quickly turned a corner. He brought his head back forward again, his vision only registering red. With a loud thud, the blonde boy fell backwards onto his butt. Groaning, Naruto looked up at the wall he presumed he had run into, only to find his cousin, Yoroi Akadou, glaring at him. "Ah, sorry Yoroi-san, I didn't see you there." 

His cousin was older than him by eleven years, making him fifteen. Yoroi was a tall boy for his age, and had short, dark brown hair. Naruto wasn't too sure about the older boy's eye color though, since he had only ever seen him wearing those ocular lenses. Yoroi wore a dark brown t-shirt and a pair of dark red pants. He had black fingerless gloves on his hands and black shinobi sandals on his feet, completing the ensemble.

The smaller boy assumed he had run into the other boy's leg, since at his full height, Naruto just barely reach his cousin's waist. Yoroi snarled at Naruto's downed form as he turned to leave, addressing the younger boy while walking off. "Watch where you're going next time, twerp."

Naruto slowly got up, dusting himself off. He looked to where his cousin had gone off to, while scratching the back of his head. "Err…right, I will." Forgetting what he had been doing before, the blonde boy walked off to find something to keep busy with.

* * *

Taiki, having witnessed the two boy's little interaction from the shadows, decided to confront his nephew. He followed Yoroi for a bit before the boy sensed his presence. "What do you want, Taiki-san?" The Akadou clan's leader stepped out in front of his nephew with a frown on his face. "Still quite the attitude you have there, Yoroi-kun." Narrowing his eyes at his uncle's words, Yoroi settled for an indifferent "humph," hoping it would irritate the man. 

Taiki, having encountered his nephew's attitude on many occasions, simply ignored the boy's attempt at riling him up, and got down to the issue at hand. "Yoroi, I saw how you acted towards Naruto earlier. He apologized after running into you, yet you still felt the need to berate him. That is no way to treat your younger cousin." Yoroi glared at Taiki with malice, disgust evident in his voice as he spoke. "That little brat has never been and never will be my cousin. The others may have accepted him as an Akadou member, but I have not. He is merely a stain on the Akadou clan's name, and nothing more."

Shocked to hear such words coming from his nephew, Taiki grew angry, preparing to reprimand the defiant teenager. "Yoroi! You will not…" But before he could even begin to deal with him, the boy spoke. "I don't have time for this. I'm meeting my team for a C-ranked mission, and it starts in less than twenty minutes." With that, he turned and ran off towards the village gate, presumably to meet his Genin teammates and their Jounin instructor before the mission. Taiki was left to silently fume as he made his way back towards the house. _The nerve of that boy. Not only does he disrespect me, but my family as well. I'll make sure he is punished when he returns from his mission. I will not tolerate anyone looking down upon Naruto simply because he is adopted. My boy is as much a part of this clan as any of the other members._

_

* * *

_  
Taiki found Naruto sitting on the porch, his feet dangling over the edge, as he gazed out over the morning sky. He sat down by his son, and with a heavy sigh, looked up to the sky as well. Naruto, having heard his father, looked at him with a guilty expression on his face. "Still mad about breakfast?" The Akadou clan head turned to his son, smiled, and ruffled his hair. "Nah, forget about it. Besides, you're a growing boy, you need the extra food. Don't want to stay a shrimp forever, now do you?" Naruto glared from under his father's hand. "I am not a shrimp!" Taiki looked at his son's serious face and laughed. "Hahaha, I'm only kidding, no need to get upset." The two continued looking at the sky above in a comfortable silence.

As the father and son duo sat together, Asuka stepped outside with her lips pursed in a flat line. "You two do remember that today is the first day of Naruto's training with the Hyuuga clan, right?" Taiki turned to his wife with a smile. "Don't worry so much, dear, we have plenty of time. He has to be there at eight." Asuka gave Taiki an all too sweet smile while speaking in a pleasant voice. "Really? Well, it's ten to eight right now." Taiki's jaw dropped as his eyes grew wide. "T-ten to eight! B-but the Hyuuga clan's compound is on the other side of the village. We'll never get there in time!" Asuka just continued smiling at her panicking husband. "Well then, I suggest you hurry."

Faster then she would have thought possible, Taiki jumped up, grabbed Naruto's arm, and sped out of the compound towards the other side of Konoha. Asuka let out a sigh while looking on after them. _There they go. I hope those Hyuuga can help my boy. _She was brought out of her thoughts by Akemi's arrival. Turning to her daughter's silent form, Asuka grew slightly worried. "What's wrong, Akemi?"

Akemi looked to her mother with a small smile. "Nothing. I was just wondering, will I be a ninja when I grow up too?" Asuka couldn't help but let the surprise she felt at her daughter's innocent question show on her face. "I-I'm not sure…Akemi, do you want to be trained as a Kunoichi?" The girl looked away from the older woman and turned towards the compound's gates. "I think so. I mean you and father are ninjas, and even big brother is going to become one. I just don't want to be left behind."

Asuka's eyes saddened, but she quickly composed herself before addressing her daughter. "I understand. If that is what you truly wish for, your father and I will begin your training as a Kunoichi of Konoha." Akemi nodded her head, a smile on her face, before running off, leaving her mother to her thoughts. _The life of a ninja will be hard on Akemi, but I know Naruto will be looking out for her like he always does._

_

* * *

_  
Miraculously, Taiki and Naruto made it to the Hyuuga compound just before eight. As they stood in front of the towering gates catching their breath, two guards from the branch family jumped down inquiring about their presence. "State your names and business here." Taiki took a moment before straightening up and answering. "Taiki Akadou and my son, Naruto. We're here to see Hiashi-san."

One of the guards nodded his head in approval before speaking. "Understood. Hiashi-sama has been expecting you. Head through the gates and towards the training grounds behind the main building." With that, the guards opened the gates, letting Taiki and Naruto through. The two followed the guard's instructions and made their way over to the training ground, where they found Hiashi already waiting.

Hiashi looked to Taiki and Naruto as the two of them approached him. "I see that the two of you have made it. Since today is the first time Naruto has been here, I will allow you to stay as well, Taiki-san. However, after today, I will only allow Naruto to enter the training grounds. I'm sure you understand, the Hyuuga fighting style and its techniques must remain a secret from others." Taiki nodded his head in acceptance. "That's fine. I would do the same in your place."

With that out of the way, Hiashi looked at Naruto. Motioning for the boy to come over to him, the Hyuuga clan head addressed Taiki. "When we last met, I unsealed a number of Naruto's tenketsu holes. In order to train the boy in chakra control and molding, I must first finish unsealing the rest of them." Naruto nervously walked over to Hiashi, glancing back to his father every now and then. Taiki smiled reassuringly at Naruto before voicing his opinion. "Do what you must, but try not to hurt the boy." Hiashi answered Taiki's concern in a calm manner. "Of course."

Naruto stood in front of the Hyuuga clan's leader, awaiting further instruction from the rather imposing man. Hiashi took a stance and addressed the boy before him. "I will now use the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) fighting style to open the remainder of your sealed tenketsu holes. It is very important that you do not move if you wish the procedure to go smoothly and without any additional pain. Prepare yourself." Naruto's eyes widened as he audibly gulped, imagining just how much this man's technique would hurt. He nervously gave a nod, and stood stock still.

At the boy's signal and straightening posture, Hiashi took off. His hands moved in a blur as they pounded away at Naruto's tenketsu holes. The Hyuuga clan's leader slowly circled around the boy as he continued his task. With the last of Naruto's tenketsu holes unsealed, Hiashi stepped back and looked at the boy. Naruto dropped to the ground in a coughing fit, struggling to compose himself. _Gah, that hurt so much! I feel like I'm going to just drop dead right here._ Taiki quickly ran to his son's side, supporting him as best as he could.

After a few more rounds of coughing, Naruto finally managed to catch his breath. He slowly tried to stand up, only to find that his legs wouldn't support him. "Huh?-! Why can't I stand up?" Hiashi walked over to the pair before answering. "That technique is very stressful on the body. You will most likely not have the energy to stand for quite some time. Rest, and when you regain your strength, we will move on to the real training for today." With that said, Hiashi walked into the main building, leaving Taiki and his son to their own devices.

* * *

Hiashi was on his way back to the training grounds, believing it to have been more than enough time for Naruto to recover. He was a few steps away from the doorway when a burst of chakra coming from outside pushed him back. _Is the compound under attack?-! _He quickly activated his Kekkei Genkai (bloodline limit) with a muttered "Byakugan" and looked to where the chakra blast had originated from. Instantly, his eyes watered, and just as quickly, he deactivated his Byakugan once again. Rubbing his irritated eyes, he made his way over to the chakra's source.

* * *

"Wha-what's going on?-! I feel funny." Naruto was standing in the middle of the training grounds, his entire body completely engulfed in chakra. He kept looking between the palms of his raised hands, as if seeing them for the first time. Taiki was starring at Naruto as well, but for a different reason. _Naruto is having an episode again, but his chakra is easily flowing out of his body. Aside from the constantly radiating chakra, he seems to be perfectly fine._ He was brought out of his thoughts by the arrival of several Hyuuga clan members, both from the main and branch family. 

One of the main family members stepped forward while yelling a warning out to the others. "Don't activate the Byakugan, you'll only cause further damage to yourselves!" A few of the Hyuuga present were indeed rubbing their eyes, having already activated their Kekkei Genkai (bloodline limit) prior to the man's warning. The man that had previously moved forward spoke again while getting into the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) stance. "I don't know who you are, but as a threat to the Hyuuga clan, I will stop you here and now!"

Before Taiki could stop the man and explain the situation, the Hyuuga shouted out the name of his attack. "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou" (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms). Taiki was frozen in place. He could only stare in shock as the man struck his son in a blur of movement. It was over before he could blink. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at his son's attacker, imagining the pain that attack would have caused Naruto, if it didn't outright kill him. He was ready to slaughter the lot of them for what the man did to his boy, but a collective gasp brought his attention back to his son's form.

Standing in the same spot he had been in previously, Naruto's body continued expelling chakra as though the attack had never happened. Cries of indignation and astonishment could be heard coming from the crowd of Hyuuga now assembled. "Impossible!", "What happened?-!", "The Hakke Rokujuuyonshou (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms) didn't work?-!", "This has never happened before!" The man that had initiated the attack stood there, dumbstruck, wondering if maybe he was having a hallucination, or perhaps this was just a nightmare that he would soon wake up from.

A soft, yet commanding voice pierced through the gathered Hyuugas' cries. "Hm…I see. So this is what the Hokage meant. Someone who can even withstand the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) fighting style will most certainly become one of the greatest ninjas this village has ever seen." _With the proper training, this boy could become near unstoppable._ Once again there were a multitude of gasps from the crowd of Hyuuga, soon followed by a collective shout of "Hiashi-sama!"

Hiashi walked over to Naruto's side, staying well out of the chakra's range, before addressing the crowd. "This boy will be personally trained by me on the weekends from this day forward. As such, he is to be considered a guest here, and you will all treat him accordingly. You are dismissed!" Once again, the crowd let out a chorus of "Hiashi-sama!" before quickly dispersing, the branch family members returning to their posts, and the main family members going to do whatever they were doing beforehand.

Taiki made his way over to Hiashi with a dazed look. "What happened? I was sure Naruto was finished when he was attacked with that technique. How did my boy survive?" Hiashi glanced at Taiki before turning his gaze back onto Naruto's glowing form. "I have to admit, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. It seems that the boy's chakra output was stronger than even the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) could create." Taiki simply starred at the Hyuuga clan's leader with a blank look on his face.

Hiashi let out a sigh, briefly wondering how such a clueless man could be the head of his own clan. "You see, the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) fighting style relies on expelling a small amount of chakra through the fingertips or palm into an opponent's tenketsu hole, effectively closing it, or in some cases, overflowing it. The chakra being expelled has a certain amount of pressure to it, which is necessary for the style to work properly. By equaling or exceeding that amount of pressure, the opponent could theoretically cancel out the effects of the style. Of course, that is simply common sense." At Hiashi's last phrase, Taiki narrowed his eyes while letting out an undignified "humph!"

Ignoring the Akadou head's interruption, Hiashi continued on with his explanation. "However, aside from merely calculating the amount of pressure required to negate the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) style, the opponent must also have chakra control equal to a Hyuuga. Without full knowledge of how to expel chakra from all 361 tenketsu holes in the body, the opponent could not possibly hope to deflect the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) style with any amount of effectiveness. That is where the boy becomes somewhat of a paradox. Rather than having the control to block each thrust with his own chakra expulsion, he emits a constant amount of chakra from all of his tenketsu holes, now that I have unsealed them. And further more, each of his tenketsu holes seem to emit chakra with a pressure far greater than the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) style is accommodated for."

Taiki raised an eyebrow at Hiashi once the explanation was complete. "So you're telling me that my boy is a natural counter to the Hyuuga fighting style?" Hiashi couldn't help but smirk at Taiki's statement. "In most cases, yes. The boy's chakra potency not only blinds a Hyuuga using the Byakugan, but even has the strength to render the original Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) fighting style useless. Still, your son wouldn't stand a chance against an elite Hyuuga member." Taiki narrowed his eyes at the Hyuuga clan's leader, quickly growing frustrated with the man's superiority complex. "How do you figure?"

Hiashi merely shrugged before replying. "Simple. Any elite Hyuuga, including myself, has the ability to control the pressure output of the Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) fighting style. The Hyuuga member that attacked the boy was not an elite Hyuuga, and as such, did not realize that he would need to increase the pressure of his attack for it to have any sort of affect."

Taiki let out a sigh. _And here I thought my boy was the ultimate Hyuuga counter. If the Akadou clan had someone like that as one of our members, the clan's fame among fellow ninja would skyrocket, maybe even surpassing the Hyuugas' own reputation. I guess he still has a ways to go before he can achieve such a title._ He kept looking at his son's chakra radiating form, but then something caught his eye. The radius of Naruto's chakra expulsion was slowly reducing in size. Only a few moments later, Naruto was back to normal, as though he had never had chakra surrounding his body in the first place.

Naruto turned his head to look at his father, confusion clearly written onto his face. "What happened?" Taiki took on a thoughtful pose. "I guess your episode is over. It worried me that they were slowly occurring more frequently, but I guess that doesn't matter anymore, since you can just expel the excess chakra on your own. Heh, it seems you don't need your old man to look after you anymore." Naruto nodded his head vigorously. "That's right, because I'm an adult now!" Taiki walked over to his son and bopped him on the head. "Don't get ahead of yourself, squirt. You're still a long ways away from becoming an adult." A pout came across Naruto's face, before he simply turned his head away from his father with a "humph," eliciting a chuckle from Taiki.

Hiashi watched the father and son interacting with one another for a while, before getting back to the task at hand. "I believe Naruto has recuperated enough, let's begin with the first step of his training." Receiving a nodded from Taiki, Hiashi turned to the boy. "Now, from what I observed of your chakra reserves previously, you will need to expand them to a much greater degree before you do anything else." Naruto smiled happily before responding. "Okay! But…um…what's chakra?"

* * *

"Again!" Naruto looked up at the man that was addressing him. Grumbling, he stood up, and walked to the middle of the training grounds. With a shout of "Kai" (Release), Naruto's form shimmered before a wave of chakra engulfed his entire body. He looked to the man that had first spoken to him with an annoyed expression. "Now what, Hiashi-sensei?" 

The Hyuuga clan head stood opposite his pupil seemingly lost in thought. _Three years. It's been three years since that boy began training with me. He came to me with pitiful chakra reserves, and even worse chakra control. He now stands before me with slightly less pitiful chakra reserves, and his chakra control has grown exponentially better._

Upon closer inspection, it would seem that Naruto had changed quite a bit from when he was a mere four year old. Training for three years would undoubtedly have an affect on the boy's physique. He now stood a head taller, with a slightly fuller frame. He even lost some of the baby fat that had once decorated a majority of his features.

But the greatest change would most likely be to Naruto's wardrobe. Gone were the days when he was covered in partially orange clothing. Having matured over the years, Naruto felt that he had a grasp on what a proper ninja should wear. Or at least he thought he did. The boy was now practically a billboard advertising the color orange. He wore a bright orange jacket that he kept zipped up over a slightly too large navy blue t-shirt, and his pants were, what else, but orange. To complete his ensemble, Naruto wore dark blue Shinobi sandals on both feet.

Looking at the now seven year old Naruto, Hiashi couldn't help but notice how far the boy had actually progressed. In the beginning, Naruto wasn't able to do much with his limited chakra stamina, but only a few months into his training, the child experienced an episode that would drastically change his future Shinobi career for the better. What started out as just another episode soon became so much more. Hiashi remembered it well, it had, after all, happened during one of his training sessions with the boy.

_:"It's happening again." Naruto was once again standing in the training area of the Hyuuga compound when another one of his episodes began. Hiashi had suggested, at the beginning of their training session, that they wait for Naruto's episodes to pass before they continued, since they would only get in the way. And so they waited, and waited, and waited. _

_An hour later, they were still waiting. Naruto was getting really annoyed that his episode was wasting time that could be spent learning something new, so he chose to voice his concern. "Um, it's not stopping." At that point, Hiashi decided to state his own opinion as well. "Yes, I can see that. Well, we've delayed your training long enough. Let's just continue from where we left off. I'm sure the episode will come to an end sooner or later." Naruto's training for the day was over five hours later, yet his episode still didn't seem to have an end in sight._

_Being the ever observant man that he was, Hiashi pointed out the major dilemma that Naruto was facing. "Hm, I suppose you can't go home like that, it would attract too much attention." Naruto turned to the Hyuuga head with a curious look. "So what should I do?" Hiashi stood there pondering just that. After several moments, he came up with an idea. "Why don't you use the henge no jutsu (transformation technique) your father taught you?" Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion. "How would transforming myself into someone else help?"_

_Hiashi wondered why he had ever accepted the Hokage's request to train this, more often than not, clueless child. With a sigh, he answered his delinquent of a student. "You're not going to transform into a different person. Just transform into an exact copy of yourself." Naruto couldn't help but interrupt here. "But what's the point of transforming into myself, that's just stupid!" _

_Giving out yet another sigh in exasperation, Hiashi once again answered his pupil's question. "It isn't if the entire point of using the henge no jutsu (transformation technique) is to put a constant drain on your chakra, hopefully equaling out the regeneration you are currently experiencing thanks to your ridiculously long episode." Realization quickly dawned on Naruto. "Oh! I get it!" Hiashi couldn't help but mutter an "Are you sure?" under his breath.:_

After that day, Naruto's episode never seemed to end. Once Taiki found out about Naruto's condition, he immediately went to inform the Hokage. All Sarutobi said was that this was to be expected, and everything was fine. The next time Naruto had training at the Hyuugas' compound, Taiki informed Hiashi of the news and the Hokage's opinion.

With that, Naruto was now endowed with a perpetual chakra regeneration that far exceeded the amount of chakra his reserves could handle. As such, if left alone, Naruto's body would constantly expel the excess chakra. The easiest way they found to stop the overabundance of chakra from leaking out was to get rid of it, usually through the use of a simple henge no jutsu (transformation technique). It just so happened that the constant drain the technique created on Naruto's chakra reserves was equal to his chakra regeneration rate.

"Hiashi-sensei?" Naruto's voice quickly brought the Hyuuga clan's leader back to reality. Shaking his head to get his mind back on track, Hiashi slowly fell into the familiar Jyuuken (Gentle Fist) fighting style and addressed his student. "Now, you will block my strikes with only your chakra. Prepare yourself."

Without waiting for any kind of response, Hiashi took off. He aimed a left palm strike at Naruto's chest, but with a flare of energy, the boy's chakra easily deflected it. Continuing with his attack, Hiashi swung an uppercut at the blonde's head with his right hand. The attack was savagely deflected by a chakra burst once again, this time throwing the Hyuuga leader's arm backwards. Using the momentum, Hiashi spun in the air, aiming a back kick with his right leg towards the boy's middle. The attack struck what seemed to be a wall of chakra radiating from Naruto's body. The seven year old couldn't help but let a smug smile settle on his face.

Seeing the boy's expression, Hiashi decided to take him down a notch. "Don't relax just yet. I haven't even been using chakra in those attacks. Now comes the real test!" He once again charged the boy, dropping low in an attempt to sweep his student's feet from under him. Naruto jumped up dodging the attack, but was caught off guard as his sensei transitioned his sweep into a summersault, landing a double footed kick on Naruto's chin. Although the kick didn't actually touch Naruto, thanks to his excess chakra, the force behind it sent Naruto flying high into the air.

Following through with the summersault, Hiashi pushed off of the ground with both hands, launching himself after the boy. Once the man positioned himself in front of Naruto's ascending form, he prepared for one of his more devastating techniques. With a shout of "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou" (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms), he proceeded to strike the boy. With the final blow, Hiashi flipped his body in the air and sent his right foot crashing down onto Naruto's head, sending the child rocketing into the ground below.

Landing gracefully near the crater Naruto's speeding body created, he spoke to his downed pupil. "Get up. Your training session is far from finished." And sure enough, Naruto's form could be seen rising from the crater ever so slowly. When he made it back to level ground, he plopped down on his butt, not even bothering to do the henge no jutsu (transformation technique) to suppress his excess chakra, and looked up at Hiashi. "Err…I think I need another break."

* * *

**A/N: **And there's another chapter, hope you enjoyed it. Some more interaction with the Akadou family (tell me, in a review, if you found any of it even remotely funny). 

I also decided on making another forward time skip, mainly because if I didn't, I don't think I would ever get to the tragic C-ranked mission, or to any of the main plot, for that matter. Yes, you can look at all of this so far as still being the prologue, since it is building up the many different plot scenarios I will have in the future. But at least Naruto has constant chakra regeneration now, so that's good.

And kudos to me, I made my first ever fighting scene in the story. Tell me what you thought about it. Liked it, thought maybe it could be better? Keep in mind this was only a spar.

Also, rest assured, this story will be pretty long, probably in the hundred thousands of words category. As for **my** **update speed**, I'm trying to keep it at a constant rate. You can expect an updated chapter on every multiple of 10. So, since I started the story the 20th, and updated with chapter 2 on the 30th, chapter 3 should have been up June 10th. Sorry, but it's a day late.

I need a new paragraph to explain why it is a day late, and **why the next few chapters may be late** as well. I have summer school classes. Yeah, in the first week alone, I had to read over 100 pages in a textbook, take 3 quizzes, and write one essay. And that was for only one of the classes. In my other class, which I am behind in right now (actually I didn't even start the readings), I have to read 7 chapters in the textbook, and I have a midterm this coming up Wednesday. On top of all of that, I have even more stuff to do next week. (It's official, summer school sucks. But I guess it can't be helped, since I was the one to sign up for it). So if you plan on berating me for future slow updates, try to understand the pain I am forced to live through during my summer break.

Anyways, next chapter preview (Now with extra accuracy…pft, yeah right. But seriously, this should be fairly accurate): Next time we'll see, through the use of several flashbacks, what Naruto has learned over the years, from both Hiashi and Taiki. We will also see how far Akemi has progressed as a Kunoichi, and I'll try to add some D-ranked missions for them to go on. Just maybe, I'll get to the beginning of the tragic C-ranked mission, I know you've all been waiting for that ever so patiently.

(This is going to be a reoccurring note throughout the fanfiction, for your convenience, of course) On a side note, I'm not any good with Japanese names, so I used a website to come up with some that would fit the OC's nicely. Here are the meanings to the OC's names I have introduced so far, along with what role they play in my story.

Taiki (Large Radiance) – Leader of the Akadou clan.

Asuka (Fragrance of the Bright Day) – Taiki's wife and soon to be mother of a baby girl and Naruto.

Akemi (Beautiful and Bright) – The daughter of Taiki and Asuka. Also Naruto's younger sister.


End file.
